THE EDINBURGH DERBY

The Edinburgh Derby was first played on March 14th 1896, 125years ago, bringing the two oldest clubs in the city, together for the Scottish FA Cup Final. This was the only time the derby has been played outside Glasgow, at New Logie Green, Edinburgh, the home of the then St Bernard's FC. The attendance was 16,500. Hearts won 3-1, scoring a penalty after 3 minutes from the start. 

The Derby has traditionally been played at New Year, since 1 January and 2 January are Bank Holidays in Scotland. The New Year derby match has sometimes not taken place in recent years, due to a shutdown in early January being introduced to the schedule. Of the 94 Edinburgh derbies played at New Year, Hibs hold a slight lead of 32 to 30 wins by Hearts. Hangovers not to blame.

During the 1940 New Year's Day match, Easter Road was covered with a thick fog that would normally cause a football match to be abandoned. Due to the match being played during the Second World War, and it being broadcast widely by the BBC for the entertainment of soldiers stationed overseas, the War Office ordered play to go ahead to avoid alerting the Luftwaffe  to the bad weather conditions. The commentator, Bob Kingsley, could not see the pitch either and had to improvise. Using a series of runners to tell him if there were any goals scored, he created his own version of the match. This was later described in The Scotsman as "Fawltey Towers  ahead of itself" and adapted into a BBC Radio Four play by Scottish playwright, Andrew Dallmayer.

Heart of Midlothian FC was founded in 1874 and the name was influenced by Walter Scott's novel "The Heart of Midlothian".

Hibernian FC was founded in 1875 by the Irish community in the city, the name coming from the Roman for Ireland. The club entered the Scottish League in 1893 and the first Edinburgh "Derby" was on Christmas Day 1875 . Hearts won 1-0. 

Other Edinburgh clubs include, Leith Athletic, Edinburgh City and Meadowbank Thistle. Minor clubs include Civil Service Strollers and The Spartans, both of whom play in the Lowland League.